Ayat Abu will never forget the time a complete stranger called her a "terrorist" in front of her children.

The mother of four, a Muslim who covers her hair with vibrant scarves and wears modest fashions as part of her religious practice, was walking out of a Murfreesboro Walmart in February with two of her boys when a man lobbed the insult at her.

"My son was extremely aggravated," Abu said. "I said, 'Do not do anything because the best thing for these people is to ignore them.' Because I don't know them and they might have a gun."

It was not the first time someone had harassed Abu for her religious beliefs. Far from it.

She chooses to wear the hijab, and that visibility can make her a target for hate. Abu has been flipped off more times than she can count, but the run-ins are scariest when they happen in front of her kids.

Many Muslim women in the U.S. have their own stories about the subtle and not-so-subtle hostility they face as they try to go about their daily lives. But the historic election in November of the first two Muslim women to Congress gives them hope for a better future — one that is filled with great possibilities and less discrimination.

First Muslim women elected to Congress give hope to others

Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib and Minnesota Democrat Ilhan Omar, who wears a headscarf for religious reasons, are Muslim, and both won seats to the U.S. House of Representatives in the midterm election.

Ilhan Omar speaks at an election night party on Nov. 6, 2018, in Minneapolis. Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.(Photo: Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

When they take office in January, their jobs will be to represent their respective congressional districts, but their victories are felt far beyond those geographical boundaries.

In Nashville, Sabina Mohyuddin, program manager for the American Muslim Advisory Council, thinks the examples set by the congresswomen-elect show young Muslims that it is worth it to break down barriers even if you have to work extra hard to do it.

"Giving women those role models in our community and then in the halls of Congress will just inspire the next generation of our Muslim, especially girls, to be assertive in who they are, to be proud of their identity and to know that their love for their community, their country will take them places," Mohyuddin said.

She hopes that one of Omar's first orders of business will encourage Muslim women to stand up for themselves, especially when their religious choices are not being accommodated in the workplace.

Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in November. Tlaib hopes she can continue to turn Muslim stereotypes on their heads as a House member.(Photo: Paul Sancya, AP)

Omar and other Democrats are trying to change a 181-year-old rule that bans House members from wearing hats on the floor of the chamber, the Washington Post has reported. This rule could affect Omar since she wears a headscarf. So the Democrats want to add an exemption for religious headwear.

Muslim women face barriers, harassment

Omar's willingness to take on the ban inspires her new House colleague, Tlaib, who sees it as yet another example of Omar's strength. But Tlaib said the archaic hat ban demonstrates just how much work there is to do in America.

Tlaib has dealt with her share of anti-Muslim rhetoric, too. But those comments largely come via social media and from people outside her district.

But she hears stories from other women and knows the harassment can be harsh for those like her mother who wear the hijab. After Donald Trump won the 2016 presidential election, Tlaib watched a man yell at her mother in a supermarket to take off her headscarf.

"They wear the faith on their sleeve by wearing the hijab," Tlaib, who does not wear a headscarf herself, said in an interview with the USA TODAY NETWORK.

She does not keep her faith hidden, but exposes it by being an advocate and a public servant. In the past, her leadership has helped dispel misconceptions about what it means to be Muslim. Tlaib hopes she can continue to turn Muslim stereotypes on their heads as a House member.

"What people mostly see on TV and in the media about Muslims is that we're terrorists and that we should be fearful, that we oppress our women. I mean two women of Muslim faith just got elected to the United States Congress," Tlaib said. "All of what they see on TV is now being challenged because I bet you on TV they have never seen anyone like myself or Ilhan."

American Muslims report that harassment is widespread. In a 2017 Pew Research Center survey, 75 percent of Muslim respondents said their faith group faces a lot of discrimination in the U.S. And Muslim women were more likely to say that than Muslim men.

In Wilmington, Delaware, Tahsiyn Ismaa’eel, principal of the Darul-Amaanah Academy, brought modestly dressed children to a public pool as part of her summer program. They were asked to exit because a manager claimed their clothing would clog the filters.

Many in the Muslim community felt the incident was Islamophobic. The mayor apologized, but Ismaa’eel wasn’t satisfied with the response and has a pending lawsuit against the city.

The biggest challenge for Muslim women, according to Ismaa’eel, is workplace and employment discrimination. Ismaa’eel said women who wear the hijab are sometimes forced to choose between donning the religious garments or feeding their families.

"This is not something that should be happening," she said.

In Tennessee, a Muslim woman fired last year from a Knoxville Walmart is suing the retail giant for religious discrimination and retaliation. A Walmart spokeswoman said the company does not tolerate either offense and the former employee, Fadumo Sardeye, was fired for violating the attendance policy.

The attorneys for Sardeye accused her managers and co-workers of harassing her for the religious accommodations she requested, including initially denying her vacation request during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and demanding she show where in the Quran it says she could not touch pork products or alcohol.

One of the attorneys representing Sardeye is Jerry Martin, the former U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. During his three years in the post, Martin unexpectedly found himself protecting the rights of Muslims in Murfreesboro to practice their religion.

"When you fail to protect the rights of one group, you diminish the rights of everyone and you endanger everyone's right to freedom of religion," Martin said. "This was always about the First Amendment."

"I worry now. Things were bad then," Martin said. "But it just seems like we're in a climate now where people are emboldened to say things that they would not necessarily have said out loud 10 years ago."

Ahmedulhadi Sharif, the imam of the Islamic Center of Tennessee, does think Islamophobia is growing in the U.S. and it is being galvanized by Trump's rhetoric. He is concerned the visibility of Muslim women will make them susceptible to backlash.

Sharif hears stories about women being harassed in the streets, but also listens to them talk about their challenges in the workplace and barriers to employment. He is periodically tapped to write letters to employers explaining why Muslim men and women need time for daily prayers and why Muslim women choose to wear the hijab even at the office.

"We want things to be easier for our sisters and for the society to understand who we really are," Sharif said.

Sarah Alzabet, who wears a headscarf, notices that some of the customers shopping at the Ulta Beauty store where she works are hesitant to let her help them. As a result, the freshman at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro feels an added pressure to be extra friendly.

She also is hyper aware of how she is treated outside of work. Alzabet has come across former classmates' discriminatory social media posts and had run-ins with hostile drivers while on a family vacation

Alzabet and her Muslim friends who wear headscarves know they face greater scrutiny and possible backlash when they are out in public. As a result, they make sure to go out in smaller groups, are overly courteous to wait staff and strangers, and they try not to speak Arabic loudly in public.

"I'm smiling at everybody that looks at me," Alzabet said. "There's never an excuse of 'Oh, I'm having a bad day.' "

Fareeha Qazi, a Muslim woman who lives in Greenville, South Carolina, takes a similar approach when she is catching a flight. Qazi, who wears a headscarf, travels a lot but speaks only English in airports and makes sure she has a smile on her face.

"I mean I get mad, I get angry, I have emotions," Qazi said. "I just want to be a normal, natural human being. But I feel that since we are outside there's certain behavior that we better fall in so that people around us are more comfortable with our presence."

Experiencing discrimination and the pressures that come along with it can be tiresome, frustrating and downright scary. In those moments, Muslim women lean on their support systems to get through it.

Abu finds strength in her family and friends and the dreams of her children, including one of her son's goals to be president some day. She will support him all the way like any mom would do.

And they focus on the high moments, like Omar and Tlaib's midterm election victory and finally having women in Congress who share their faith. Their success is what prompted Alzabet to finally add a political science minor to her college plans.

"If they were able to do it, then I can," Alzabet said. "If they can, I can."

Reporter Christina Jedra of The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal contributed to this report.

Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.